Communication

AQUAKNIGHT fosters reduction of water losses in distribution networks

The efficient and sustainable use of water resources has become a top challenge at Mediterranean level. In addition to an increased pressure on already limited resources, water scarcity is aggravated by huge amount being lost through leaks in water distribution systems and the volumes of water distributed without being invoiced. The levels of Non-Revenue Water (water that has been produced and is "lost" before it reaches the customer) are high in most of the Mediterranean countries calling for solutions which need to be tailored to local circumstances due to variation in the cause of water loss and the mechanisms available to manage them.

AQUAKNIGHT (Aqua knowledge and innovation transfer for water saving in the Mediterranean basin), a standard project running since December 2011, aims to address the issue of Non-Revenue Water through the development of five parallel pilot projects in the cities of Limassol (Cyprus), Genoa (Italy), Alexandria (Egypt), Tunis (Tunisia) and Aqaba (Jordan) and capacity-building of water companies and public institutions concerned with water management.

The second newsletter of the project sums up the training initiatives carried out in the first year of implementation and offers an overview of the current status of the five pilot projects. The newsletter also announces the AQUAKNIGHT conference which will take place on 15th May 2013 in Alexandria (Egypt) in order to promote the project results and best practices.

Coordinated by the Institute of Communication and Computer Systems (Greece, Sterea Ellada), the partnership gathers nine public institutions, water utilities and private companies from five countries: